Tomorrow night, the PFL will have it’s second playoff event of the 2024 season. The action goes down in Hollywood, Florida as the light heavyweights and lightweights take center stage. In the main event, the 2023 light heavyweight champion will look to continue his quest towards a second straight championship.
The main event tomorrow is actually a rematch of last year’s championship bout with this year’s bout being contested for a spot in the 2024 championship. Last year’s champ Impa Kasanganay (17-4) will take on last year’s runner-up Josh Silveira (13-3).
Starting with Kasanganay, he has been on a tremendous roll since he was signed by the PFL following his UFC release. Kasanganay started on the Challenger Series last year and got a shot to compete during the regular season. From there, Kasanganay dominated the competition going 3-0 with two finishes.
That led him to the championship bout with Silveira where he dominated and won by decision. So far this year, Kasanganay is 2-0 with two finishes earning him the top spot in the PFL Playoffs. His opponent tomorrow night is extremely fortunate to be in the playoffs at all.
Josh Silveira won his first fight of the year after Sadibou Sy was injured in the first round during a takedown from Silveira. That injury TKO netted him six points. He then lost to Rob Wilkinson by decision in the second fight of the season.
He finished with six points tied with Antonio Carlos Jr who also lost his second bout. Silveira was fortunate that his injury TKO over Sy came quicker than Carlos Jr’s first win giving him the tie-breaker for the playoff spot. He’s a very big betting underdog to make the PFL Championships.
PFL Playoffs
The other semifinal matchup at the PFL Playoffs tomorrow night will feature the 2022 champion who is looking for the ultimate redemption this year. 2022 champ Rob Wilkinson (19-2, 1 NC) will be taking on Dovlet Yagshimuradov (23-7-1).
Starting with Yagshimuradov, he earned nine points during the regular season with his two wins. In the first event of the season, he scored a first round knockout and then he followed that win with a decision victory to get him to the playoffs. His nine points is equaled by his opponent tomorrow night.
Like Yagshimuradov, Wilkinson also scored nine points during the regular season. Wilkinson stopped Tom Breese in the first round prior to winning that close decision over Josh Silveira in the second matchup. The former PFL champion ran through the competition in 2022. He entered the 2023 season as the massive favorite, but after winning his first fight, he tested positive for a banned substance which kept him out for the rest of the season.
He’s been looking for redemption this year and he’s off to a great start. He needs to stop the momentum of Yagshimuradov who has won five in a row leading up to this semifinal matchup. These both should be excellent matchups and with so much on the line, I wouldn’t blink.